


Graveyard of Blades

by CharlotteDaBookworm



Series: Ardynson AU [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ardynson AU, BAMF Nyx Ulric, Chosen of Ramuh Nyx, Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Fuck Bahamut, Galahdian Culture, Gen, Good Dad Ardyn, Nyx is Ardyns son
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 14:46:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16120700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharlotteDaBookworm/pseuds/CharlotteDaBookworm
Summary: It was just a matter of time until he ran out of places to run too or until the enemy forces were decimated to the point that Lucis would win.Eventually, Bahamut would catch him.Nyx didn't expect to survive when that happened. And it would happen - you couldn't run forever and he only had a finite amount of magic. But this was a decent last act. Dying to save his people, to protect those who he cared for, to protect the future.Not the worst way to go.





	1. Someone hates you? Use it.

**Author's Note:**

> Okay so, this an au of my Ardynson AU that tumblr inspired me to write. In this, Drautos finds out about the preparations that they are making for Niflheim's invasion and tells Niflheim and everything goes to shit because of it.

"This is an extremely stupid idea." Nyx sighed, drawing looks from Cor, Clarus, and Regis who were nearby.

 

They were being overrun. Niflheim's forces had been beyond their imagining and even with the intel that Nyx had been able to gather from his contacts they weren't prepared. They'd been expecting a strike force - still large but not undefeatable. But Niflheim had somehow gotten word that the Lucians had been preparing for the trap. They'd brought a full invasion fleet - with thousands of MT's, dozens of airships, and more daemons than they could handle.

 

They'd seemingly appeared from nowhere, despite the impossibility of moving that many troops secretly. But in the end, it didn't matter how they had gotten to the wall without being seen.

 

Because they were losing.

 

It was obvious. Regis was holding up the wall, but only barely - and it weakened, he weakened, with each strike against it. The entire glaive and Crownsguard was gathered by the wall, prepared for the moment when the wall eventually fell, but they all knew that it was for nought. _They couldn't win this._ They didn't have the manpower or the leverage, and they would be fighting while trying to protect the civilians who they hadn't managed to evacuate from the city. And even if the Regis was able to keep the wall up, the city wasn't prepared for a siege - they didn't have enough food or water to last long enough, and eventually, they would face the same problems they did now.

 

Lucis would fall, now or when they ran out of food.

 

Unless. Well, it was a stupid idea. One that would almost certainly get him killed - and Nyx didn't want to think about what his father would be like after his death, and if it didn't kill him then his dad would - but.

 

But his people were behind this wall. But he had a _duty_ to protect them. But, if he played this right, he could take out the majority of the enemy forces - leaving enough that Lucis could win. But what was one life in the face of thousands?

 

_(If it came down to his life, or the lives of his people, then Nyx had always known who he would choose. There had never been any doubt in his mind. He was a Chosen of Ramuh and his people_ always _came first)_

 

He sighed again.

 

This was the worst idea that he'd ever had - one that literally came from his nightmares - but it would **work.** And well, he was the hero. He straightened his shoulders and tightened his grip on his kukuris, which was enough for Libertus to look over at him.

 

"Nyx," he said while walking towards him, "whatever you're thinking of, don't you dare." He smiled sadly at his oldest friend, dipping his head, before steeling himself and warping straight into the centre of a platoon of MT's - ignoring the startled exclamations and yells from behind him.

 

"My name," he ducked a blow while speaking as loud as he could, "is Nyx Ulric," slamming one of his blades into the neck of an MT attacking him, "and my father," he sent out a wave of lightning that took out a dozen soldiers and gave him some breathing room. "Is _Ardyn Lucis Caelum_."

 

The moment that he finished speaking, he warped as far away as he could - which was on top of a Cerberus. A blade slammed down into the earth where he had been before, killing the MT's there, and Nyx warped again.

 

And again, and again, and again. Over and over, every time he landed he would warp again using his own magic rather than the Crystals or Regis' - and always a blade would slam down to try to kill him, oftentimes less than a second after he had moved.

 

He bounced across the battlefield, barely staying ahead of the blades that were out for his life, using Bahamut's rage to kill as much of the invading force as he could - until the battlefield was littered by blades thrown by the Draconian in an attempt to kill him.

 

It was just a matter of time until he ran out of places to run too or until the enemy forces were decimated to the point that Lucis would win.

 

Eventually, Bahamut would catch him.

 

Nyx didn't expect to survive when that happened. And it would happen - you couldn't run forever and he only had a finite amount of magic. But this was a decent last act. Dying to save his people, to protect those who he cared for, to protect the future.

 

Not the worst way to go.


	2. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nyx falls. He’s injured and he’s tired and he’s out of magic. This time, when Bahamut swings a blade, Nyx doesn’t move.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a response to hamelin-born over on tumblr

Nyx falls. He’s injured and he’s tired and he’s out of magic. This time, when Bahamut swings a blade, Nyx doesn’t move. Everyone expects to have to watch him die – they cannot stand against an Astral, let alone the Draconian – after he has just saved all of their lives, has just saved the entirety of Lucis and dealt Niflheim a vital blow at his own cost. But, at the last second, with the blade literally centimetres from Nyx’s skin – Ramuh interferes and catches the blade, while protecting Nyx from any further blows. They do not come – because even Bahamut would not directly oppose Ramuh – but the Fulgurian does not leave.

Not until Libertus – one of the few present who knows the entirety of Nyx’s heritage and is used to Nyx doing stupid shit, and so does not need as much time to recover as everyone else – moves to pick up Nyx, giving Ramuh a nod of respect and deference. (All the Galahdians bow their heads to the Stormlord but no more – the Lucians throw a fit over their ‘lack’ of respect but the Galahdians don’t care. They respect their patron differently. The bowed head is more for saving one of their own).

Lib promptly starts towards the nearest hospital – mostly because of the magic exhaustion that Nyx has, but he also has a bunch of other wounds.

He gets about 100m before everyone else snaps out of it. They rush Nyx to the hospital in the Citadel and try to grill Libertus for what he knows but he refuses to say anything – just that it’s Nyx’s story to tell.

So they wait. Everyone goes back to work – especially the glaive and the Crownsguard – but the Galahdians, especially the glaives, set up a rotating watch on Nyx so someone is always there and Regis and Clarus and Cor visit regularly.

It takes Nyx two days to wake up. Most of that is the magic exhaustion – the cuts he had were mostly superficial, only a few requiring stitches, and while he was bruised af his worse injuries where the muscle strain from over-warping. Lib and Crowe are there, and they send for the King and a doctor before spending the next half hour berating him on his stupidity and telling him that Selena is on her way. The doctor tells him that he’s mostly fine and then he’s left alone with Regis et al.

\--------------------------

“So. I assume you have questions.”

 

Because Regis, Clarus, and Cor are standing in his hospital room and looking at him as though he’s a mystery they can’t wait to solve.

 

And Nyx, well. Nyx is as sore as fuck, and he is tired in a way that he hasn’t been since he was just starting to learn to use magic, but he’s alive. He hadn’t expected to wake up – had known when he’d made the choice that it would lead to his death. Ramuh saving him? What not something that he’d considered.

 

He’s grateful. He _is_. Despite what everyone seems to think, he doesn’t actually want to die – he likes living. But he’s really not looking forward to this.

 

Especially since he had never expected to have to deal with this – had always expected to die when it came out that he was his father’s son.

 

But he has no choice. Not when it’s his king and his friend that it asking, someone that he doesn’t want to lie to.

 

To his surprise, it’s Clarus who speaks first. “Yes. You knew that that would happen when you spoke your fathers name.” It’s a statement more than a question, if a fair one – considering his actions before he warped into the battle.

 

“Yeah. I-“ Fuck. How to say this? “Bahamut has hated my father for a very long time – every since he refused to die for a prophecy Bahamut made and tried to find another way instead. The Fulgurian cursed him for it, and my father knew when I was born that he would try to kill me if it was known, just because of what my father is. I used that – because we were losing, and it was the only way I could think of that we might have won.” He knows that he’s not explaining this well but, he doesn’t really want to get into the entire story – not with Ardyn’s permission – and it’s not an easy thing to make sense of without all of the information.

 

“What do you mean by what he is? And you called him a Lucis Caelum during the battle?” Cor said. Nyx sort of wanted to hit him – probably would if it didn’t hurt so much to just breathe – because he was _really_ hoping that they hadn’t noticed that. And now Regis was starting to look like he was happy that he had more family out there and, fuck.

 

“He’s… not technically a Lucis Caelum.” How he wished he could just leave it there and pretend his dad was someone’s bastard child. “If only because he’s older than the name. The reason the relation didn’t show up on my blood tests is because dad is a little over 2000 years old – so technically we’re about as genetically related to you as we are to everyone else on Eos, but we still have the magic so it’s a weird sorta grey area. And Bahamut really hates dad, and dad really _hates_ him back because he’s the reason that dad is still alive nearly two thousand years later. And dad isn’t that fond of the Lucis Caelum line either because his brother was the founder and it’s the same brother who tried to kill him and stole his throne because dad was older and-“ Nyx cut himself off because he was rambling and everyone was looking very confused.

 

“I’m really not explaining this well, am I?” Regis gave him a deadpan look that would have better suited Cor. “Right. Look. Two thousand years ago two sons were born to the line that would become the Lucis Caelum line – the Sage and the Mystic. The older one, the Sage, was given a prophecy by Bahamut that said he would be the one to rid the world of the Scourge – but that he would die for it. But the Sage didn’t _want_ to die and he was a healer so he tried to find another way – but he was cursed with immortality by Bahamut, and rejected by his brother and his people for it. Dad continued to live and avoid Solheim and later Lucis, your line was born from the younger brother who became King, and Bahamut continued to hate dad. Then, 32 years ago, I was born. And both my parents knew that if my father was known, I would be killed – so it was hidden. Which is why when I revealed my fathers name Bahamut tried to kill me – the curse he gave my father, well dad isn’t really human anymore. And gods tend to tar us all with the same brush so…” Nyx shrugged. “In all honestly, I’m more surprised that it took so long for this to happen – especially since I caused it. I fully expected Bahamut to recognise me the first time he saw me – Ramuh certainly did. Especially since he can sense things through the crystal, and my magic feels pretty similar to dads so. I’ve been expecting this to happen for years.”

 

Well. Fuck. He didn’t really mean to say that. He peered at the IV in his hand. What sort of drugs did they have him on?

 

Regis stiffened. “What do you mean that you expected this to happen earlier?”

 

\--------------------------

 

And it goes on. Nyx keeps digging, making everything sound worse and worse. Mostly because he’s on the good drugs at the minute. Regis et al are very pissed that Nyx basically came to Lucis to die for his peoples protection. They sort of put the whole, my dad is 2000yrs old, thing to the back of their minds but then research the fuck out of the Sage when they get back. Everything they can find – and there isn’t much, most of it destroyed by Somnus all those years ago – supports what Nyx told them

_(They find a painting. One that always seemed more fantastical then the halls full of formal portraits, located in a corridor just off of the throne room. They find a painting that shows a man with purple hair being dragged to his execution. On the back, the Sage is labelled._

_Regis feels a bit sick when he realises. Because how many times has Nyx stood guard by this painting? How many times has Nyx been forced to stand there and ignore the painting of his father being killed for not wanting to die? And to see that displayed as_ art _. Well, he’s sick and he’s angry because how could they have done this?)_

Selena shows up the next day. She spends a full two hours yelling at him and then another hour hugging him, before leaving with Crowe (because those two are totally together). And then, two days after the talk with Regis et al, Ardyn shows up.

Nyx wakes up in the middle of the night and his father is standing in a shadowed corner, his eyes glowing yellow against the darkness of the room. Because he had _terrified_ his father – because he had almost died and he was _Adryn’s_ one of the few things that tie him to his humanity.

_(The only reason it took Ardyn so long is because he stopped to destroy every one of Bahamut’s shrines that he could find on the trip back while also stopping to thank Ramuh for saving his sons life)_

After the terror wears off Ardyn is both angry and proud. Angry because Nyx had basically sacrificed himself – and Ardyn is his father, no amount of lives are worth Nyx’s – and he had revealed who he was to Bahamut and it was a really stupid plan and he is going to shove Nyx through so much more training in response for this – because this may have basically been the best case scenario but things could always get worse. But also proud because using Bahamut to save everyone by making him dramatically miss constantly is exactly the thing that he would expect from his son.

He sticks around. And is still there when Regis et al come back the next day.

Which is about when they realise that Ardyn Lucis Caelum is actually Ardyn Izunia and he happens to be the Chancellor of Niflheim. Nyx probably should have mentioned that. Oops.


	3. Bahamut is an idiot and Nyx is Done

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bahamut tries to curse this. This goes about as well as expected.

Less than a minute after he stepped out of the hospital, another blade fell from the sky. Only, this time, Bahamut followed.

 

"You have got to be fucking kidding me." Nyx groaned. What the shit was his luck?

 

"Nyx Lucis Caelum-"

 

"That's not my name." He interrupted automatically. _(Look, his dad was an utter troll who called him that to irritate him)_.

 

"-You have been judged as unworthy-"

 

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, _really_. That's rich, coming from you."

 

"-due to your association with the Accursed-"

 

"That is my _father_ you fucking bastard. And he has a bloody name, no matter how hard you've tried to rid it from history." Because there was a reason that nobody remembered his father, and it wasn't just due to Somnus.

 

"-Due to this, henceforth you shall share in his Curse."

 

Nyx blinked. And then blinked again. "Oookay. Whatever. If you're done? Please, kindly, fuck off." Another blink, and Bahamut disappeared back to wherever he had come from. "Well. That happened."

 

Libertus whistled from his place beside him. "What the actual fuck." Nyx laughed and thumped him on the arm - trust Lib to defuse a tense situation.

 

"I'm going to kill him." _Fuck_. He'd forgotten his dad was still here. He glanced behind him, and there the man was - eyes Scourge yellow and magic swirling invisibly around him.

 

"Dad. No."

 

"Ardyn, yes."

 

"Selena!" Nyx sent his younger sister a stern look. "Dad, seriously. This will last a decade, maybe two, at most. No more. All this means is that I won't die before you do. So don't go literally god-killing for me, not when it's not necessary."

 

"Believe me, son, that I am not opposed to the fact that your suicidal tendencies will no longer kill you." He carried on before Nyx could protest that he didn't have suicidal tendencies. "However, that is not the point here. The _point_ is that Bahamut cursed an _innocent_ for the sins of another. He cursed _you_ as punishment for me, as punishment for defiance, and I will _not_ let that stand."


End file.
